Chinese rescuers on way to salvage mission

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Members of a Chinese emergency response team get onboard the rescue vessel "South China Sea Rescue 101" at the Sanya Port in Sanya city, south China's Hainan Province, March 9, 2014. The emergency response team sent by China's Ministry of Transport set out early Sunday morning from Sanya to the sea area where the missing Malaysia Airline flight MH 370 may have crashed. The rescue vessel "South China Sea Rescue 101" is carrying 12 divers and salvagers, and will join another rescue vessel "South China Sea Rescue 115" to the rescue site. (Xinhua/Zhao Yingquan)

Chinese rescuers arrived successively Sunday at the sea area where it is thought the missing Malaysia Airline flight MH370 may have crashed.

"Tai Shun Hai," a rescue vessel of China Ocean Shipping (Group) Company arrived at the possible crash site at 9 a.m. on Sunday and started searching. It has searched about 145 square sea miles but did not find any possible wreckage of MH370, according to Meng Zhaodong, captain of the vessel.

“China Coast Guard 3411” arrived at the possible crash site at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday and has searched 200 square meters without finding any suspicious objects until 7 p.m. Sunday.

Rescue vessel "South China Sea Rescue 101", carrying 12 divers and salvagers, set out early on Sunday morning from south China's Sanya Port and will join another rescue vessel, "South China Sea Rescue 115," at the rescue site.

The rescue work remains challenging as there is no exact location of the possible crash site and it will take about two days for the rescue ships to reach the water, said Zeng Ying, leader of the emergency team.

A Boeing 777-200 aircraft operated by Malaysia Airlines left Kuala Lumpur International Airport at 12:41 a.m. Beijing time on Saturday and was expected to land in Beijing at 6:30 a.m., after a 3,700-km trip.

Contact with the flight was lost along with its radar signal at 1:20 a.m. Beijing time on Saturday when it was flying over the Ho Chi Minh air traffic control area in Vietnam.

The flight was carrying 12 crew members and 227 passengers, including 154 Chinese.